Student assembly at Easton's OA to address sexting dangers

Wednesday

Mar 19, 2014 at 10:35 PMMar 19, 2014 at 10:38 PM

A school assembly will be held in the wake of a sexting incident involving three Oliver Ames High School students.

Staff Reporter

EASTON – A school assembly will be held in the wake of a sexting incident involving three Oliver Ames High School students.
The incident was reported to Easton police on Feb. 5 and didn’t happen at the high school, police said.

The three students in the sexting case – in which students transmit nude photos on their mobile phones – are attending school and have been since the incident, according to Oliver Ames High School Principal Wes Paul. A date for the assembly, which would focus on the repercussions of sending inappropriate photos as well as other topics, has not been finalized, said Paul.

“A student heard about it and told a teacher and as soon as we heard that we turned it over to the police,” Paul said. “I want to stress while this incident is alarming, it is a small number of students and it is a mistake, but it’s not reflective of our youth at large. The vast majority are respectful.”

On Wednesday, Easton Police Chief Allen Krajcik said that the investigation was over, unless further information indicates that the 17-year-old shared, sold or posted the photos.

The 17-year-old male suspect was showing inappropriate photos on his cell phone of two females, ages 15 and 17, according to Krajcik.

The 17-year-old had asked the victims to send him photos using Snapchat, which is designed to have photos delete after a short period of time. However, images or video from Snapchat can be downloaded before the message disappears.

That’s what happened in this case, said Krajcik. The material from Snapchat was downloaded to the 17-year-old’s iPad, the chief said.

“When someone takes a picture, who knows where it will end up and with Snapchat, the photos don’t disappear like people think they do,” Krajcik said.

The 17-year-old in the Easton case will be enrolled in a six-month diversion program, said Gregg Miliotte, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

Part of that will include having the suspect watch real-life stories about the dangers of sexting and the consequences, as well as the possibility for serious criminal charges, Miliotte said.

The teen will also have to complete 40 hours of community service, and write an original five-page paper about the effects of child pornography on victims of sexting, Miliotte added.

Jennifer Bray may be reached at jbray@enterprisenews.com or follow her on Twitter @JenniferB_ENT.